Ellen and I and a few of her friends are doing a Grand Canyon hike in two weeks. Saturday was a training hike with Stephane and his dog Supai. Weather was hot, dry and windy; not an ideal day for such a long hike. While other shelter volunteers manned a both at the West End Fair, I hiked with an old friend. I am still working on balancing my love of the outdoors with my love for photography and animals.
We got started at the Montezuma Pass trailhead (6575') at 7:35am. Sadie and Supai hit it off right away.
And then the two-mile hike up the exposed southern section began. It kicked my butt right away, so I opted to be in the rear to take breaks. Had I really lost my conditioning that fast? While I was able to get my rhythm going steady by the time we reached the wilderness boundary, we took lots of water breaks for ourselves and the dogs.
The entire range looked surprisingly dry, despite the wet winter we had. Our recent dry heat had already dried up the vegetation, so that all I saw everywhere were shades of grey, brown and black. The only flowers I saw were lupines, although there were new pines along the Crest Trail for a next generation of trees.
It was a gusty day all around. The entire horizon was hazy, offering a rather dull vista. San Jose Peak was barely visible today.
Sadie and Supai stayed together for most of the hike. They genuinely liked one another. They had hiked before a few times. Supai, being part Retriever, part Sharpei, is one lucky dog, having followed Stephane as he was returning from a long Grand Canyon hike from Havazu Falls. This dog will then return with Stephane and his young family to Canada, his homeland.
We met several people along the way, including an older man on his descent who appeared a little delirious. He was dressed in a heavy wind jacket and gloves. He'd started the ascent at 4:00am with a flashlight and it was now approaching 11am. Stephane caught him walking down an "illegal" trail, and got him back on the correct route.
We made it to the peak before noon. It was breezy up there! We huddled along the old foundation of a lookout tower as the two dogs sat around and begged for treats. This was Stephane's first ascent of Miller Peak.
Stephane took the lead on the descent. He wanted to be back early for his anniversary meal. Sadie, however, started showing heat exhaustion symptoms with three miles to go, and I had to keep stopping to offer her more water and let her rest in the shade. Ellen left to meet up with Stephane since they were driving together and I didn't want them waiting. The last three miles took me two hours. I was back home by 3:30pm.
This is the first time I've seen Sadie so exhausted after this hike. Is she getting too old for these long hikes? Was the heat too much? Is her epilepsy causing her side effects like sensitivity to sunlight?
No comments:
Post a Comment